Flux-cutting and flux-transport effects in type-II superconductor slabs in a parallel rotating magnetic field

The magnetic response of irreversible type-II superconductor slabs subjected to in-plane rotating magnetic field is investigated by applying the circular, elliptic, extended-elliptic, and rectangular flux-line-cutting critical-state models. Specifically, the models have been applied to explain experiments on a PbBi rotating disk in a fixed magnetic field ${\bm H}_a$, parallel to the flat surfaces. Here, we have exploited the equivalency of the experimental situation with that of a fixed disk under the action of a parallel magnetic field, rotating in the opposite sense. The effect of both the magnitude $H_a$ of the applied magnetic field and its angle of rotation $\alpha_s$ upon the magnetization of the superconductor sample is analyzed. When $H_a$ is smaller than the penetration field $H_P$, the magnetization components, parallel and perpendicular to ${\bm H_a}$, oscillate with increasing the rotation angle. On the other hand, if the magnitude of the applied field, $H_a$, is larger than $H_P$, both magnetization components become constant functions of $\alpha_s$ at large rotation angles. The evolution of the magnetic induction profiles inside the superconductor is also studied.Comment: 12 pages, 29 figure

Quality of Life in Spanish Patients with Liver Transplant

Background: Liver transplantation is the optimal method of treatment in patients with end-stage liver failure. Transplantation medicine has significantly progressed in the last time, but some psychology and psychosomatic problems still remain unsolved. Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQL) in liver transplant is considered a useful measure of evolutionary process of the illness. Objective: The authors analyzed the evolution of HRQL in pre-transplant (waiting-list patients) and post-transplant (first year after liver transplant) periods of liver transplant Spanish patients. Methods: A prospective and longitudinal study was carried out among patients who received a liver transplant from a deceased donor. They were assessed in four phases: at the time of inclusion on the transplant waiting-list, and 3, 6, and 12 months after receiving the graft. We used a structured interview and SF-36 and Euroqol-5D (EQ-5D) Health Questionnaires. Results: The greater differences were found between pre-transplant and post-transplant stages with less well-being in the stage before the transplant. No significantly differences were observed when comparing the 3, 6 and 12 months from posttransplant stage. Conclusion: The HQRL of liver patients improved after the transplant, being appreciated a tendency to the stabilization from three months onwards. We suggest that the psychological intervention, in liver patients, should be conducted in waiting- list patients and in the first 3 months post-transplant, periods with a poor mental health (anxiety, depression, and stress by fear to the unknown thing) and a low adhesion to the treatment that can generate a smaller graft and/or patient survival.Transplant Research Network RETIC FIS C03/03Junta de Andalucí

Methods for autonomous wristband placement with a search-and-rescue aerial manipulator

A new robotic system for Search And Rescue (SAR) operations based on the automatic wristband placement on the victims’ arm, which may provide identification, beaconing and remote sensor readings for continuous health monitoring. This paper focuses on the development of the automatic target localization and the device placement using an unmanned aerial manipulator. The automatic wrist detection and localization system uses an RGB-D camera and a convolutional neural network based on the region faster method (Faster R-CNN). A lightweight parallel delta manipulator with a large workspace has been built, and a new design of a wristband in the form of a passive detachable gripper, is presented, which under contact, automatically attaches to the human, while disengages from the manipulator. A new trajectory planning method has been used to minimize the torques caused by the external forces during contact, which cause attitude perturbations. Experiments have been done to evaluate the machine learning method for detection and location, and for the assessment of the performance of the trajectory planning method. The results show how the VGG-16 neural network provides a detection accuracy of 67.99%. Moreover, simulation experiments have been done to show that the new trajectories minimize the perturbations to the aerial platform.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Comparative Antioxidant, Antiproliferative and Apoptotic Effects of Ilex laurina and Ilex paraguariensis on Colon Cancer Cells

Purpose: To determine and compare the antioxidant, antiproliferative and apoptotic effects of leaf infusions of Ilex laurina and Ilex paraguariensis in colon cancer cells.Methods: Antioxidant activity was determined by ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) and FRAP (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power). Cytotoxic and antiproliferative effects were analyzed using MTT ((3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) and sulfhorodamine-B respectively. Cell death and apoptosis of human colon adenocarcinoma cells SW480 and their metastatic-derived SW620 cells, were analyzed by flow cytometry using propidium iodide and Annexin-V.Results: Although their flavonoid levels were similar, I. laurina infusion contained 2.2 and 4.4 times higher amounts of total phenolic and caffeoyl derivatives, respectively, than I. paraguariensis. FRAP and ORAC values for I. laurina infusion were 1.6 and 2.0 more active than I. paraguariensis. Both plant infusions inhibited viability and cell growth of SW480 and SW620 cells. These results may be associated to cell cycle-arrest and apoptosis because of the comparable increase of hypodiploid and annexin-V positive colon cancer cells.Conclusion: These data highlight the antioxidant and promising anticancer activities of I. laurina and Ilex paraguariensis.Keywords: Ilex laurina, Ilex paraguariensis, Antioxidant, Antiproliferative, Apoptosis, Colon cance

Cobalt oxide-Carbon nanocatalysts with highly enhanced catalytic performance for the green synthesis of nitrogen heterocycles through Friedländer condensation.

A novel series of eco-sustainable catalysts developed by supporting CoO nanoparticles on different carbon supports, highly efficient in the synthesis of quinolines and naphthyridines, through the Friedländer condensation, are reported for the first time. Textural properties, dispersion and location of the Co-phase are influenced by the nature of the carbon support, Co-precursor salt and metal loading, having a significant impact on the catalytic performance. Thus, the presence of the mesopores and macropores in carbon aerogels together with the homogeneous distribution of the active phase favours the formation of product 3a as a function of the metal loading. However, an increase in the metal content when using CNTs indicates the formation of CoO aggregates and an optimal concentration of 3 wt% CoO was observed, providing the highest conversion values. The carbon-based catalysts herein reported can be considered to be a sustainable alternative having advantages such as easy preparation, superior stability and notably enhanced catalytic performance, operating at lower temperature and under solvent-free conditions.pre-print815 K

Remote Sensing of Cell-Culture Assays

This chapter describes a full system developed to perform the remote sensing of cell-culture experiments from any access point with internet connection. The proposed system allows the real-time monitoring of cell assays thanks to bioimpedance measurement circuits developed to count the number of cell present in a culture. Cell-culture characterization is performed through the measurement of the increasing bioimpedance parameter over time. The circuit implementation is based on the oscillation-based test (OBT) methodology. Bioimpedance of cell cultures is measured in terms of the oscillation parameters (frequency, amplitude, phase, etc.) and used as empirical markers to carry out an appropriate interpretation in terms of cell size identification, cell counting, cell growth, growth rhythm, etc. The device is capable of managing the whole sensing task and performs wireless communication through a Bluetooth module. Data are interpreted and displayed on a computer or a mobile phone through a web application. The system has its practical application in drug development processes, offering a label-free, high-throughput, and high-content screening method for cellular research, avoiding the classical end-point techniques and a significant workload and cost material reduction

Risk factors associated with the antimicrobial resistance of staphylococci in canine pyoderma

This study reports the susceptibility to antimicrobial agents of staphylococci 4 (n=105) isolated from dogs, and the factors associated with this resistance. The study 5 animals were 23 healthy dogs (group A), 24 with first-time pyoderma (group B), and 27 6 with recurrent pyoderma that had undergone long-term antibiotic treatment (group C). 7 Staphylococci were more commonly isolated from the pyoderma-affected than the 8 healthy dogs (p<0.0001). 9 10 Some 78% of the isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent. 11 Resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanate,cephalosporins (OR 4.29, 95% CI [1.15, 16.3] 12 respectively), enrofloxacin (OR 9.47, 95% CI [1.53, 58.5]) and ciprofloxacin (OR 79.7 13 95% CI [3.26, 1947.4]) was more common among group C isolates. Some 32% of all 14 the isolates were multiresistant (MR) and 10.4% were methicillin-resistant (MRS). The 15 probability of isolating MRS staphylococci in group C increased by a factor of four 16 (95% CI [1.18, 17.9]) compared to A plus B. Multi-resistant (MR) isolates were 17 obtained more commonly from urban than rural dogs (OR 3.79, 95% CI [1.09, 13.17]). 18 All the MRS staphylococci encountered were obtained from urban dogs and more 19 commonly from male dogs (p= 0.07). 20 21 This study shows that dogs bred in urban habitat, with a history of antibiotic 22 therapy in the past year represents significant risk of being carriers of isolates resistant 23 to methicillin (MRS) and other antimicrobials. These factors should be considered 24 before applying an antimicrobial treatment in veterinary clinics

Influencia de la cristalizacion de la manteca de cacao en las propiedades sensoriales y físico-químicas de una cobertura de chocolate con leche

Los productos de la industria del chocolate contienen grasa, que en su mayoría, debe ser manteca de cacao la cual presenta 6 formas de cristalizar, pero solo una de ellas es la apetecida por los consumidores debido a su chasquido y brillo característico para este tipo de producto. El objetivo del proyecto fue evaluar las características sensoriales y físicas de una formulación de chocolate (cobertura de chocolate con leche de la marca Nestlé) elaborada con 4 rangos de temperatura de atemperado (24 - 26 ºC; 26 - 28 ºC; 32 - 34 ºC y 34 - 36 ºC) con el fin de apreciar el efecto de la temperatura en la cristalización de la manteca de cacao. Los parámetros evaluados sensorialmente fueron el chasquido, brillo, textura, aceptabilidad, sabor y olor a través de un panel de 10 catadores (consumidores regulares) que calificaron los productos de manera descriptiva. Las pruebas físico-químicas realizadas para caracterizar la cobertura de chocolate fueron grasa y color, el porcentaje de grasa se determinó por el método Soxhlet, utilizando un extractor de grasas marca JP Selecta. El color se analizó utilizando un espectrofotómetro de esfera serie SP60 marca X-rite. El producto que mejor evaluación obtuvo fue el elaborado a una temperatura de 34 ºC, que obtuvo una aceptabilidad del 50 %, el que menos favorabilidad alcanzó fue el elaborado a 24 ºC. Se concluye que la temperatura de atemperado sí influye en las características finales del producto, obteniéndose productos con más brillo de los atemperados a 32 ºC y 34 ºC

CALIDAD DE UN CURSO VIRTUAL DE E-LEARNING EN CIENCIAS DE LA SALUD

A descriptive study was conducted in order to evaluate the quality of a virtual course on teacher training, using the Evaluation Model of the Virtual Continuous Training Courses of the Latin American Institute for Quality in Distance Education (CALED, in Spanish). By applying a checklist and four questionnaires, there were analyzed 72 indicators for the following areas: Technological quality, training, instructional design and services and support. The results indicate a partial accomplishment of the quality standards. The areas of greatest fulfillment in descending order were training, instructional design and services and support. In the area of technological quality most of the requirements were met, but in many cases, no required records were found as evidence at the time of the assessment.Se realizó una investigación descriptiva con el objetivo de evaluar la calidad de un curso virtual de formación docente, usando el Modelo de Evaluación de Cursos Virtuales de Formación Continua del Instituto Latinoamericano de Calidad en Educación a Distancia (CALED). Mediante la aplicación de una lista de verificación y cuatro cuestionarios, se analizaron 72 indicadores de las áreas: calidad tecnológica, formación, diseño instruccional y servicios y soporte. Los resultados indican cumplimiento parcial de los estándares de calidad. Las áreas de mayor cumplimiento en orden decreciente fueron: formación, diseño instruccional y servicios y soporte. En el área de calidad tecnológica se cumple con la mayoría de los requerimientos y en algunos casos no se encontraron registros requeridos como evidencias de la evaluación. QUALITY OF AN E-LEARNING VIRTUAL COURSE IN HEALTH SCIENCES AbstractA descriptive study was conducted in order to evaluate the quality of a virtual course on teacher training, using the Evaluation Model of the Virtual Continuous Training Courses of the Latin American Institute for Quality in Distance Education (CALED, in Spanish). By applying a checklist and four questionnaires, there were analyzed 72 indicators for the following areas: Technological quality, training, instructional design and services and support. The results indicate a partial accomplishment of the quality standards. The areas of greatest fulfillment in descending order were training, instructional design and services and support. In the area of technological quality most of the requirements were met, but in many cases, no required records were found as evidence at the time of the assessment. Keywords: Distance education; educational evaluation; educational quality; teacher education.